Brandcurve - branding and marketing

Coors Light Ousts Budweiser as Nascar Sponsor

by Susan Gunelius on September 26th, 2007

Budweiser has been the official beer of Nascar since 1999, but starting with the 2008 racing season, that title will shift to Coors Light.  In a deal estimated at $25 million, Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) became the newest beer sponsor of Nascar. 

With an estimated 75 million fans, Nascar is the biggest spectator sport in the United States and the second most popular sport on television in the United States behind professional football.   Molson Coors hopes to steal some market share from the number one domestic brewer, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), with its Nascar coup. 

At the end of 2006, Anheuser-Busch held 48% market share to Molson Coors 11%.  As the new sponsor of Nascar and already the sponsor of the National Football League (NFL) until 2010, Molson Coors has a good chance to increase that 11%.  Already, Molson Coors’ stock rose $1.73 after news of the Coors Light Nascar sponsorship was released.

What do you think?  Will the Nascar sponsorship help boost Molson Coors sales?  Should Anheuser-Busch be worried at all?

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POSTED IN: Brand Sponsorship, product placement, promotion